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This is a prototype vision of how a future government service could work. It's not a real service yet, but we're exploring what it could look like. Your feedback will help shape the real service.

National Digital Exchange (NDX)

The NDX is a centralized platform that allows for the streamlined access and utilization of data and digital services across the public sector.

It will build on existing initiatives such as the data marketplace, the National Data Library, and the Cloud Marketplace. NDX is a “mash-up” of several different technologies and platforms, including an API gateway, an event bus, a data streaming service, Reddit, StackOverflow, and GitHub.

The Innovation Pipeline

NDX creates a complete innovation ecosystem that connects government challenges to practical solutions through a structured pipeline:

  1. Challenges - Government departments publish problem statements that identify specific operational needs, inefficiencies, or capability gaps requiring innovative solutions
  2. Campaigns - Industry and academia create kickstarter-style pre-commitment products that address these challenges, requiring buy-in from multiple organizations before development begins
  3. Catalog - Successfully funded campaigns become deployed solutions available for immediate procurement and use across government
  4. Reviews - Users provide feedback and assessments on deployed solutions, creating a feedback loop that improves future procurement decisions

This pipeline ensures that innovation is driven by real government needs, solutions are validated before development, and successful products become widely available across the public sector. It transforms traditional procurement from reactive purchasing to proactive problem-solving through collaborative innovation.

By facilitating the sharing of data and resources, the NDX aims to address the challenge of siloed working within the public sector. It is hoped that this will foster collaboration and prevent duplication of effort.

The NDX has the following objectives:

  • Provide standardized and secure cloud environments to reduce activation time and costs for departments.
  • Offer a marketplace for pre-approved cloud services to simplify the procurement process and ensure compliance with government standards.
  • Establish a community platform to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration amongst digital data professionals.
  • Provide access to high-value datasets and APIs to encourage data sharing and collaboration between departments.
A DIAGRAM WITH TWO PATHWAYS. THE FIRST SHOWS A LONG AND WINDING ROAD LABELED "TRADITIONAL CLOUD PROCUREMENT." THE SECOND SHOWS A STRAIGHT PATH LABELED "NDX" THAT IS CLEARLY SHORTER AND MORE DIRECT.Path

The hope is that by simplifying the process of accessing and utilising cloud services, the NDX will accelerate cloud adoption across the UK public sector and address issues such as prolonged activation times and inconsistent cloud environments.